Just caught up. I like the Kennedy Center detail. Is that where Congress is in session as well? The new convention center isn’t going to finish until 2003, so the Kennedy Center is probably your best bet to keep the legislative process downtown and not present a picture of retreat.
I propose funds for a temporary arts venue on the Mall, maybe just north of the Washington memorial. Alternatively in the massive parking lot that was the old convention center site at the time. (And would remain so for a ridiculous number of years IOTL.)
I just want to push back on the idea that people would *necessarily* be more angry or upset ITTL. It’s just not necessarily how the human mind works. Can you imagine someone IOTL saying, “3,000 people are dead, so I am 3/5ths as sad and angry as I would’ve been if 5,000 were dead,”? That’s not how brains work. Same with conspiracy theories. One thing conspiracists don’t need is additional data points, more evidence. If anything, having 1-2 extra targets (and no speculated target) makes it harder for some of the theories to emerge.
Now, of course the direct tragedy does spread further. Additional lost lives means a much greater web of personal grief, affecting probably hundreds of thousands more. The twin towers in themselves, before the tragedy, never successfully symbolized much; the same definitely cannot be said for the Capitol and the Empire State Building. People will be affected by the loss of these symbols in subtle and diffuse ways.
I suspect one way, which we’re already seeing with the Trump post, is an even stronger effort from people and government to intervene against corporate interests when it comes to promotion of public aesthetics. IOTL there was a huge fight against what became the Freedom Tower; an unsuccessful fight. Local citizens and both the NYC and state governments came to an accord on what they wanted for the site, including architectural decisions. The owner of the Trade Center was able to successfully ignore most of this accord and build what he wanted. But with, I suspect, much more of the city getting directly involved in the battle over aesthetics (thanks to their interest in the fate of the ESB site and Trump proving right from the gate that their are villains to fight) I’m thinking the public and the government might get their way.
(Incidentally I did my capstone in college on this fight if you want some more thoughts and maybe some never-built WTC ideas, Vidal.)
Also definitely agreeing with Vidal on the administration not gunning for Iraq. It was a bizarre sell at the time and very clearly (at least as far as what the public saw) had nothing to do with evidence and everything to do with just wanting to lash out. And while people were okay with lashing out at the time, I think Vidal shows McCain exploring that impulse and rightly putting it aside. “Do not trust, and verify” and possibly be ready to attack elsewhere when necessary seems entirely reasonable.
Incidentally, I wonder how this will affect the situation in the ME should an alt- Arab Spring emerge. If Syria isn’t reacting to the occupation of Iraq, that’s some hefty butterflies. I suppose the Gaddafi pivot still happens, and how does McCain respond to that?
Small cultural butterfly: no one’s gonna want to see planes of any kind flying at the Empire State Building, So Peter Jackson will need a different post-Rings project. Halo?